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The earthquake in Ecuador on 16 April 2016 generated large volumes of debris and waste. This dataset contains data on recovered and reused disaster materials. Data were collected through a census survey of the scrap dealers of earthquake 2016 debris and waste (n = 62). This dataset was compiled to demonstrate how earthquake waste was generated during the 2016 earthquake and compare it with the pre-disaster period 2015 and the 2019 current when the data were collected. The recovered disaster materials include plastic, metal, cardboard, paper, glass, other recyclable materials, and reused materials. Likewise, the database allows us to observe the time response of medium- and small-sized scrap businesses as scrap dealers engage in the commercial transaction of disaster materials, and this dataset shows the process phases of recovering disaster waste. In addition, the dataset includes profit perceptions and factual earnings from scrap businesses after an earthquake. Considering the significant volume of waste and debris generated, this database can provide useful data for evaluating disaster waste management as an important task in post-disaster recovery.

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Enhancing the thermal comfort of low-income housing in developing countries located in tropical areas is one of the main challenges for engineers and architects worldwide. The coconut mesocarp fibre (coir) has shown enormous potential for improving some properties of modified concretes or mortars, such as low-weight and high-acoustic isolation. In this study, the potential use of modified mortars by coconut fibres as a facade coating layer to enhance thermal comfort in low-income housing structures was evaluated for the city of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. An actual typical low-income house of 42 m2 was monitored. Temperature and humidity variations were monitored for 39 days, thermal characteristics of coir-modified mortars were also investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and an adaptation of the standard test method of the guarded-hot-cartridge apparatus. The EnergyPlus™ software was used to simulate indoor temperature variations in the studied house. Results show that during the period of 4 h of maximum sunlight radiation with outdoor temperatures in the range of 29-34 °C, coating the cement-sand hollow block structure with a layer of coir-modified mortar could reduce indoor room temperatures by 0.5-1.5 °C, approximately. Thus, there is a potential to enhance the thermal comfort in low-income housing structures with coconut fibre modified mortars while reducing annual energy costs of cooling by 16%, making it affordable for low-income families in the Caribbean region of Colombia.

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This research focuses on investigating how physical and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP) recycled material are modified when ultrasonic micro injection molding (UMIM) technology is used to produce material specimens. Experimental characterization by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, and rheology tests show that the fabricated PP samples were able to withstand up to five times recycled processing before some signs of mechanical and physical properties degradation are observed. Surprisingly, uniaxial extension tests show an increase of 3.07%, 10.97% and 27.33% for Young's modulus, yield stress and ultimate stress values, respectively, and a slight reduction of 1.29% for the samples elongation at break when compared to the experimental data collected from virgin material samples. The improvement of these mechanical properties in the recycled samples suggests that ultrasonic microinjection produces a mechano-chemical material change.

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BACKGROUND: Dengue is an arbovirus disease that threatens approximately 200 million people annually worldwide. Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) is anthropophilic mosquito, extremely well adapted to the urban environment and utilizes varied habitats for egg-laying and development. This study analysed the distribution of mosquito larvae and eggs in urban area of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, São Paulo, Brazil. The spatial correlation between locations in which people store recyclable materials and the distribution of larvae and eggs were verified. METHODS: Larvae and ovitrap egg collections were conducted from 2014 to 2016. All persons who stored recyclable materials for living were registered and georeferenced. The Mann-Kendall test was used to verify spatial and temporal trends in the number of eggs and larvae/pupae. Euclidian distance map was constructed to correlate recyclable collectors and Ae. aegypti, and Moran's index was employed to verify their spatial autocorrelation and identification of groupings. RESULTS: A total of 137,825 eggs and 16,393 larvae were collected in different habitats from 2014 to 2016. The analyses showed that there was a spatial correlation between larvae and eggs collected, and these two kinds of surveys also presented a spatial correlation with the handling of recyclable materials. The results of the analyses showed significant spatial correlations between eggs and recyclable material collectors and between larvae and collectors. CONCLUSION: The entomological surveillance conducted using ovitraps as a proxy for the presence of Ae. aegypti is an efficient and sensitive method for monitoring the presence of mosquitoes and the impact of interventions employed for decreasing vector populations. Mosquito surveys employing ovitraps should be used more often in routine activities aiming to control dengue through vector control interventions. The locations used to store recyclable materials have a significant relationship with the maintenance of the dengue virus infection in the area. Further studies will be needed to analyse the contribution of recyclable locations, for which there is no ideal infrastructure to minimize the potential use of these materials as mosquito habitats. The entomological surveillance focused on locations of recyclable materials involving interventions that are different from those commonly used in Ae. aegypti control.

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Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate and compare three different categories of management systems for municipal solid waste (MSW) in Brazil: (1) mixed waste direct disposal systems, (2) separate collection systems, based on wet-dry streams, and (3) mixed waste mechanical-biological systems, including materials recovery. System scenarios were built around main treatment techniques available and applicable in developing countries, and considered barriers as well as potential synergies between waste management and other industrial production. In the first category systems, we measured the impact magnitude of improper disposal sites (semi-controlled and controlled dumps) still used for approximately 40% of collected MSW, and found that sanitary landfills could decrease it 3-5 fold (e.g. GWP, from 1100-1200 to 250-450 kg CO2 eq. t-1 waste). As an alternative, waste incineration did not show significant benefits over sanitary landfilling, due to limitations in energy utilization and the low-carbon background electricity system. Category two of systems, revealed recycling benefits and the necessity as well as potential risks of biological treatment for wet streams. Simple wet-dry collection could result in relatively high levels of contamination in compost outputs, which should be mitigated by intensive pre- and post-treatment. Potential impact of air emissions from biological degradation processes was important even after anaerobic digestion processes. Biogas upgrading and use as vehicle fuel resulted in bigger savings compared to direct electricity production. Lastly, category three, mechanical-biological systems, displayed savings in most environmental impact categories, associated with materials recovery for recycling and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) production and utilization in cement manufacturing.

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The implementation of reverse logistics systems (RLS) for post-consumer products provides environmental and economic benefits, since it increases recycling potential. However, RLS implantation and consolidation still face problems. The main shortcomings are the high costs and the low expectation of broad implementation worldwide. This paper presents two mathematical models to decide the number and the location of screening centers (SCs) and valorization centers (VCs) to implement reverse logistics of post-consumer packages, defining the optimum territorial arrangements (OTAs), allowing the inclusion of small and medium size municipalities. The paper aims to fill a gap in the literature on RLS location facilities that not only aim at revenue optimization, but also the participation of the population, the involvement of pickers and the service universalization. The results showed that implementation of VCs can lead to revenue/cost ratio higher than 100%. The results of this study can supply companies and government agencies with a global view on the parameters that influence RLS sustainability and help them make decisions about the location of these facilities and the best reverse flows with the social inclusion of pickers and serving the population of small and medium-sized municipalities.

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